Mandarin Immersion

Lots of schools offer Mandarin classes, but not too many have Mandarin immersion.

A parent's group in British Columbia, however, wants to establish a Mandarin immersion program. A school district superintendent described the proposal as "an immersion program for bilingual children and everyone’s going to learn English and Mandarin, and we’ll also teach them French."

British Columbia has a large Chinese population, but the superintendent stressed that "this isn’t a case of Chinese parents wanting to establish a Mandarin-only school."

Many Canadian elementary and high schools offer French immersion, in which most subjects are taught in French, but English instruction is still part of the program. French is one of the two official languages of Canada.

French immersion was introduced in Canada in the 1970s to encourage bilingualism. It is very popular, and according to Canadian government figures, "Immersion students outperform non-immersion students in reading."

But is Canada ready for Mandarin immersion? There's no doubt it's a good idea - young children don't seem to have difficulties with tones, one of the stumbling blocks for adult learners. And the earlier that students are exposed to Chinese characters, the more likely they are to become fluent in reading and writing.

I'm a bit skeptical that Mandarin immersion will ever become a reality in Canada, at least in the public school system. French immersion is a recognition of the importance of Quebec within Canada, but Mandarin is simply one of many ethnic languages. What about Polish immersion? Italian immersion? All good ideas, but I'm sure the line is drawn at the two official languages.